Sitting down with Legacy Interactive's developers working on ER, I recently was shown a small portion of the upcoming game. ER is based on the long-running king of medical dramas of the same name.

ER is aimed primarily at fans of the show; these fans will appreciate both stars and storylines from the show. Even the ER layout is built to be an almost exact replica - Legacy sent people to the set for pictures and measurements. Some recognizable stars include Noah Wyle, Mekhi Phifer, and Sherry Stringfield.

These docs will not be playable, however, as players create their own new intern at Chicago's County General Hospital. The character creation will be similar to that of a traditional RPG, with four primary statistics and eight skills to specialize in. These statistics will have to be regulated throughout your shifts, as your skills at helping patients will be adversely affected if any of them drop too low.

The sheer variety of patients is surprisingly accurate to the show. While seeing just a short level of the game, patients such as a mime with the flu, a clown with heart trouble, a young girl in shock, and several business people with variant ailments were found. These patients are surrounded with a color-coded border showing their status as well as differentiating them from staff. The models are intricately detailed, many looking life-like. Of the show's stars, I was only able to see Mekhi Phifer's character. Mekhi was looking perfect, down to his cocky grin he matched his show counter-part.

The intense stories and passionate relationships from the show are expected to be found here as well, with several levels taking place outside the emergency room. A crash scene, a riot, and a bowling alley are all levels players will see upon release early next year.